Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Psst...Be sure to keep reading 'til the end for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!Giveaway closed.

I have great memories of going on trips to visit grandparents each summer when I was a kid.

At Grandma and Grandpa's house in Socorro, New Mexico, my siblings and I would run around their small farm and explore. For at least a couple of summers, we worked on a treehouse we were building. One year we had a blast sliding off the metal roof of a shed onto a mattress below. (I wonder if my parents ever knew about that?!)

At Mamma and Papa's house we'd spend hours playing "Steal the Bacon." I won't bore you with all the rules of the game, but suffice it to say, it involved lots of running, laughter...and intrigue. I couldn't wait to play every year.

I'm so glad my kids get the experience of visiting grandparents too! The Engineer and I often wish we lived closer to our parents, but I do enjoy the excitement that comes along with less-frequent visits.

So before the summer is over, we're spending a couple of weeks having fun with the grandparents.

We arrived in Arizona to see my parents a couple of days ago, and we have a lot of fun things planned! My mom is so good at making our time together special. She's setting aside one day as "Chickie Day," and one day as "Zoodle Day." She's letting them choose a special meal. (Chickie's requested plain pasta, and Zoodle wants burritos...no filet mignon for these two!) They also have chosen special activities. Grammy will help Chickie make a bead necklace, and I think we're going to take Zoodle to McDonald's to play. Besides their special days, there will be lots of other special activities like donuts with Sampa. (The donuts will have plenty of sprinkles, of course!) The kids are going to have a ball (and I'm going to relax while I have the chance!)

Next week we'll be way up north in California to see The Engineer's parents. There's a fun park in their neighborhood. It includes an old-style merry-go-round--you know, the type they don't put in playgrounds anymore because it's not totally safe. But we all survived playing on those merry-go-rounds, right? Chickie has loved playing on this one in past years, and I think Zoodle will love it too this year! Hopefully they'll see some deer in the woods that back up to Grandma and Grandpa's property. They'll get to watch cartoons on cable channels that we don't have at home. The kids will love having a couple of extra grown-ups to read to them too!

Zoodle helping Grandpa barbecue last year

Because our kids aren't in school yet, summer isn't really that different than the rest of the year. But this year we've still managed to make it special, with lots of playdates, and now with a fun trip to see both sets of grandparents. And when the kids get a little older...I think marathon games of Steal the Bacon will definitely be in order!

Now it's your chance to win a $100 Visa gift card! For all the fine print and official rules of the contest, visit this link. Here's how to enter:

You can enter up to 2 times. Choose up to 2 of these 3 entry methods:

Leave a comment here sharing how you'd like to enjoy the rest of the summer. Even if your kids are in school, it's still officially summer!

Tweet about this contest, and leave a comment with a link to your Tweet.

Post about this contest on your blog, and leave a link to the blog post.

Remember, you can only enter twice, and you need a separate comment for each entry. The contest will close next Monday. Good luck! (And to improve your chances, enter at the other blogs involved in this series--just click here!)

Last week's winner:

The winner of last week's gift card was determined by my trusty friend random.org....

Congratulations to commenter #128, Nicole! Regarding her family's breakfast routine, Nicole wrote, "Most days, we eat something quick and easy like toast or cereal because we are usually headed out the door for work or some other activity. On the days when we don't have anything going on, I like to make waffles or egg and cheese English muffin sandwiches."

*****Mom’s Breakfast Club was started to help educate moms and families about kids’ cereal and share the scoop on their nutritional benefits and ingredients. To learn more about the program, visit http://www.blogger.com/www.betterbythebowl.com.

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comments:

We still have a few small weekend fun things planned for while summer is in the air. We are going to take a roadtrip to visit another zoo, and we are also going to be building a swingset in the backyard (thanks to my wonderful in-laws).

I've already had a great summer, even though I work. Got to visit my family in northern Minnesota for a week. This weekend its GIRLS WEEKEND with some friends. We designed our own beer bus tour, via the city bus. The next day we are renting a pontoon boat to enjoy a day on the lake. :)

We are still waiting for summer in No Cal, such a cold one! We did a summer trip to visit my inlaws in July and now we just had our last summer fling in Murphys CA with my Aunt and Uncle. Boys have had lots of family time!

Be careful on the Merry go round...my almost 3 year old flew off it like a rocket! Luckily just scraped his arm - rather badly, but he was a trooper!

I'd love to fit in a "real" vacation before the end of summer. Not the kind of trip that involves running around like crazy seeing sights and seeing people. The kind that involves a hammock on a beach or a hot tub in the mountains. Reading and relaxing and no classwork. That sounds glorious.

It's been a busy summer so far, so I want to spend the last few weeks before preschool starts up by doing nothing! We're done with summer camps, we've done all our big trips, and now it's time to kick back and have lazy days of playing outside, going to the beach, or just chilling at home with the coloring books.

I am a teacher so my summer is officially over. The teachers started back yesterday. :( Our last-minute adventure was to head down to San Antonio for the weekend and go to Sea World. It was a blast!annie@thepurcell.com

Because it's so foggy and drizzly during our summers, we tend to make a lot of soup and stay cozy inside. We'll probably do more 'summer' things like spraygrounds, swimming and beach trips when the sun comes out in Sept/Oct!

We are enjoying summer by staying inside in the cool AC away from the 100+ degree weather LOL. My daughter has enjoyed her summer by going on different field trips with her summer camp and having a lot of play time with her friends.

The kids start school Monday so we are already in our flurry of back to school supplies; grandkids meet their new teachers and see their new rooms on Friday; we wind up GP (Grandparent) camp Thursday so we can help give out school supplies at the Friday open house... It is like celebrating the end of summer vacation and getting ready for new and exciting adventures

We'll be ending the summer by spending as many more days on the beach as we can. My husband and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary the end of Sept and will end the summer by going away for a weekend beach get away!

I'd like to enjoy the rest of the summer by moving into our new house! I'm not sure it's going to happen, but I so, so, so want to have our lady's bday party there! OH yeah, and I'd like to spend some time w/ my husband...he's so busy with the house I never see him anymore :(

I'd like to make it out to the playgrounds a few more times before we settle into our first year of homeschooling. We still have about a month before it starts raining all the time here in the Northwest. We need to get out while we can

I am trying to finish some crafty and sewing projects before my semester starts, my husband and I are going to have our one and only hoorah with our friends (we've been so busy this summer) and we'll keep riding our horsies till it gets too cold! susie_q55@hotmail.com

We are fitting in a trip to the zoo tomorrow. We will also fit in a few more trips to the city pool before it closes until next summer. We definitely will be spending time outside, since we are stuck inside for 4 long moths of winter!nbalogh522 at gmail dot com

We are planning to spend a lot of time outdoors. We love roasting marshmallows at night around a fire :o) I would love to fit a camping trip in somewhere too but not sure if that will happen :o( Maybe in the backyard!

We plan to spend the rest of summer spending quality family time doing anything and everything we can outside. We are going to the Zoo, Big Surf, Bennet Spring, and just enjoying taking walks and learning from nature. We can't ait to celebrate my birthday Aug 25th and my daughters 2nd on Sept 10th. We are both so glad to be summer girls.pica_princess_88@yahoo.com

Well, school starts Monday and we me the girls' teachers last night so I feel like summer is over! They have their last day of camp today and a pool party tonight and we'll just chill over the weekend. They're ready to go back to school!

We are going to the splash pads and are enjoying playing outside as much as possible! I'm also looking forward to my oldest going back to school this week so I can spend some quality time with my youngest!winnieayala at yahoo dot com

This summer hasn't really felt like summer, but for Labor Day we are going to Pensacola Beach/Mobile Bay are to meet up with my in-laws. We are going to have a family celebration for my daughter's 1st birthday and catch some sun and waves!t_freckleton at yahoo dot com

This summer has felt like it's gone by so fast!!! But the last thing were doing before my son goes back to school is go camping!!! We have so many beautiful spots to go camping here in Utah!!! We love being outdoors and being grateful to all the beauty around us!!! Here is my e-mail ani_allen@hotmail.com

I think the best way to make summer last a little bit longer is to spend more time outside enjoying it! I love to play simple outside things with my kids in the summer, like playing with sidewalk chalk, playing with bubbles, and playing in the sprinkler! Thanks for the great giveaway!! Amandastrawberryshimmer (at) gmail (dot) com

i would like to enjoy summer by watching my son and his grandfather really bond, my dad is coming for a visit next week and has only seen his grandson a few times due to living far away.ohhhfire@hotmail.com